7

I spent a lot of time at sailors' bars over the next few months. Tregar had not returned to the Voyagers' Club, but Johannes assured me that long absences were not unusual. So instead of facts, I got to listen to the drunken rumors of far off lands. Every sailor had a story, mermaids, sea serpents, red priests sacrificing men to get a favorable wind but nothing local. Much like I'd thought initially, all of the supernatural was far from Braavos. Asshai was a year away and I wasn't willing to take Maggie into the potential heart of the enemy to learn how to defend myself. Time and distance seemed likely to be some barrier, since it had taken Quaithe two years to contact me. So I sat listening to the ramblings of wine-soaked customers, and took notes on what they had to say. Much of it was contradictory or only came from one tale, but a few consistent claims came out. The followers of R'hllor claimed to be able to see the future in their flames, some north of the wall in Westeros could see through the eyes of nearby beasts and the Valyrians once could shape molten stone, along with taming dragons. The shadow-binders had their own stories though, no two alike. They could use blood to save a man, to kill him or to bring him back to life. The could enslave shadows to do their bidding and travel the wastelands past Asshai up to the cheerily named 'Corpse City', Stygai where no one else returned. They wore masks, one of the sailors almost described Quaithe's, and there were no children in their city. It sounded like just the place to go on holiday with my daughter.

With no new leads to pursue I kept working on our home's defences. I erected wards against spirits, demons, bugs, ghouls and refined the ones that vanilla intruders and burglars would trip. I didn't know if anything would work, but I was going with the plan more is more. Maggie helped me, carving runes into the floor and engraving symbols on the entranceways. I made a circle in each room ready to be called up with an effort of will and drilled her on raising her own. She, of course, thought it was fun and enjoyed having a secret from her friends, who merely thought I had poor taste in interior decorating.

The neighbors had warmed up to us from their initial polite disinterest, which was largely due to Maggie's diplomacy. She must have gotten it from Susan, as I had almost as many failed negotiations as burned buildings, numbers which were in no way related. My work with Koren the silversmith had helped a little, casting miniatures with the Alphas had been good practice for movable type and the first printed pages in the world had been created a week ago. Seeing I had useful skills, rather than wandering around aimlessly finding things had convinced them that I was respectable enough to be acknowledged on our island.

If they could see Maggie and I now though, their opinions might change. We were in my lab with her against the far wall. I had a ball of leather wrapped wood and was chucking it at her as she tried to raise a shield. It wasn't as harsh as DuMorne's baseballs, but Maggie was younger than when I started. She wasn't able to generate the shield every time, only about one in three but they would stop the ball. After almost two bells of work she was frustrated and tired, but I kept on throwing the ball. This world was dangerous and even if she grew to my size, it was no defence against swords and arrows. She needed to be able to protect herself if I couldn't and a strong shield would be needed. "Why can't we stop?" she demanded after dodging a quick throw that had shattered her shield. "I'm tired and my head is pounding." I was sure she wasn't lying and it hurt me to continue but she needed to learn.

"Fifteen more blocks and we'll be done." I felt terrible, forcing her to keep going, but part of mastering magic was building a will of steel. She had to be able to concentrate even if her hand was melting, and while I hoped she never felt them, there were far worse pains then headaches. She nodded, but looked mutinous, and I hoped that she would get her shields up quickly as I wound up and threw the ball.

A bell later she had recovered some color, when she had put up her last shield she had been pale behind her dark skin and her eyes had bags under them. Magic wasn't easy work, tiring both the mind and body. We were sitting in the dark living room as she ate fruit and drank water I had chilled silently when she spoke up. "Why, why are you pushing me so much harder now?"

I exhaled. Maggie had heard many of my stories and thought of me as an invincible hero, I had saved her from an army of monsters, fought faerie queens, werewolves and ridden a dinosaur. She didn't see Quaithe and her magic as a new and terrifying threat, but another enemy of the week in my long line of defeated foes. "This world is different than the one we left. I had thought there was nothing here that would threaten us beyond the ordinary sins and evils of mankind. I looked hard when we first arrived, and didn't see anything I recognized as magic. I was complacent." I stopped for a moment, Maggie was staring at me, her dark eyes unreadable. "Quaithe was the first sign I was mistaken. There's no Nevernever here, or at least one that I can reach, and her disappearing trick, along with her knowledge shows there's more than I know out there."

"You can make illusions, you showed me how you could turn invisible and told me how Molly could make images and sounds. Why is Quaithe such a danger?" Maggie had been stewing over this for some time I realized, but getting hit a few times by a hard ball had given her the impetus to ask.

"She's different. In a city the size of Braavos on earth there would be multiple groups of practitioners, and if I tried I could feel them. There aren't any here. Her magic is different and unknown and you should always be cautious of new and surprising magic. I've been researching-"

"Is that what they call drinking now?" Maggie had a small smile even though she still looked exhausted.

"Quiet you. Seriously, I've been researching the stories about magic here, and some of it is scary. The Voyagers thought Quaithe was from Asshai based on her name and the entire city sounds like bad news. Sailors claim they do everything from killing to necromancy along with vague darker magic. If Quaithe can do a tenth of what the stories describe she'd be a threat. Worse I don't know how to guard against it. Was she in the city when she visited, or did she project that image across the world. How did she even find us? She knew my Name and I know I've taught you enough to know how a big a deal that is." I paused looking at her, Maggie's joke had encouraged me, but she was somber now.

"So you want me to be able to defend myself."

"Yes, you know that I can't always help, even if there's nothing I wouldn't do to save you. I won't be around forever and you need to know this even if its two centuries into the future." I felt bad even obliquely mentioning Chichen Itza but I stuffed down the guilt. "I would like nothing better than for you to live a long peaceful life but based on my luck that's wishful thinking." We both sat in the dark quietly for a few minutes until I stood and told her it was time for bed. She went to her room with only a token protest, the magic and discussion had worn her out.

The next morning was cloudy but Maggie had recovered her spirits. I watched her play with her friends and wished that we were back in Chicago, where I had allies and knowledge enough to ensure she was safe. Instead we were trapped in some other world and threatened by some guild of sorcerers. There was a Voyagers' Club meeting tonight and I was going to attend to try to speak with the elusive Tregar. I didn't know if he'd be able to add anything but it was worth a shot. Johannes had mentioned that he was apparently working on something to present in the near future but no one had any idea what it could be. I decided not to worry about it, and told Maggie she was skipping school. We spent the day wandering the city and not discussing magic until it was time for the meeting. I left Maggie after dinner with instructions to practice her meditation and took a boat to meet with Johannes on the way. I saw the large man from a distance and had the gondolier pick him up. He saw me and boarded causing the gondola to sink and sway but we eventually got underway without getting soaked. "So did you hear if Tregar is coming tonight?" I asked.

Johannes looked stunned. "You haven't heard? Tregar Antaryon was found with his throat ripped out in his locked study yesterday morning."